Preventing Bed Bugs from traveling into my Apartment? (renters, mattresses)
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
I got the bedbug covers for the mattress, too, but I just want to point out that the covers actually do nothing to PREVENT getting bedbugs.
As far as I know, they accomplish only these two things:
1) they make it easier to spot an infestation if you end up getting one (bedbugs cannot live deep in the seams of the mattress because they can't get to them)
2) they protect your mattress from digusting stuff -- bedbugs, feces, bedbug carcasses -- so that if you do get them living in your apartment, you do not have to throw out your mattress
I think caulking would be an excellent idea, though I haven't done that yet.
I also do not shop at thrift stores, do not sit on wood benches in the subway, do not put my coat on anyone's bed when I go to a party (I prefer to put it on the floor in a corner of the room, although that may not even be that much better). I also don't buy used items from strangers and don't take out library books.
If you have the $300 for a Packtite (a small portable oven in a dufflebag-type contraption), then you can somewhat comfortably bring used items into your home as long as they go in the Packtite immediately and you heat them to the correct temperature. This would kill any bugs and eggs.
If you have the $300 for a Packtite (a small portable oven in a dufflebag-type contraption), then you can somewhat comfortably bring used items into your home as long as they go in the Packtite immediately and you heat them to the correct temperature. This would kill any bugs and eggs.
I know someone who works at the Hollister store in Soho which apparently dealt with an infestation last year sometime...and he said they are using the Packtite for all returned clothing before moving them back to the sales floor. I was also in a Marshalls recently and saw their customer returns were sealed in plastic bags (the kind comforters come in) and then moved to a back room. I was wondering if they are now doing some kind of preventative treatment as well.
Dealing with any kind of infestation in an apartment building necessarily requires a coordinated effort among immediate neighbors. Those roaches you managed to get rid of? They went next door. That's where that mouse went too. Think about the fact that pests generally travel in between walls and floors (one persons floor is an others ceiling). Unless there's a real effort at protection from at least a majority of tenants sharing a floor, it's likely there won't be a 100% success. Maybe for some of you, but someone else not in the fight may end up with the exodus. Know your neighbors.
Tell me about mattress covers? Are they a very finely woven fabric through which bugs cannot crawl or are they those horrible old plastic covers to keep the incontinent from wetting the bed? I was in a hospital once with plastic covers and it was a sweaty terrible nights sleep.
If they are fabric, I might invest in one becasue my mattress and spring are "good" ones. I case I ever get an infestation, I'd like to have the mattress survive.
But I could no more sleep on plastic than I could flap my arms and fly.
Tell me about mattress covers? Are they a very finely woven fabric through which bugs cannot crawl or are they those horrible old plastic covers to keep the incontinent from wetting the bed? I was in a hospital once with plastic covers and it was a sweaty terrible nights sleep.
If they are fabric, I might invest in one becasue my mattress and spring are "good" ones. I case I ever get an infestation, I'd like to have the mattress survive.
But I could no more sleep on plastic than I could flap my arms and fly.
The good ones are not plastic, they are made of something called Miracle Membrane, which is breathable polyurethane. It can even be dried in the dryer.
I don't know if you would be able to tolerate it or not.
I am not bothered at all, especially since I put a quilted mattress pad on top of the protected mattress. However, I find the pillow case protectors to be a little slippery. The pillow case does not sit on it the same way it sits on a pillow.
I had a foam mattress when I got infested. There's no where to hide on a foam mattress so I could have technically saved my bed, but I threw it out anyway just in case. In the event of an infestation, you have to decide if saving that one piece of furniture is worth the trouble of going through this all over again. Since I was throwing out just about everything anyway, I decided to part with it. So even though you might get a cover for your mattress, it's hard to not question it's effectiveness when the time comes.
I've had them . It was a horrifying time in my life. I washed, dried , and steamed everything all day every single day for about a month. I was losing sleep, at night I would wake up and clean because i read somewhere at night/early morning they are most active. And when i did sleep I found myself having nightmares about them. I was literately losing my mind. My 1 year old at the time seemed to be there favorite flavor. It made me a mother on a mission. I threw everything away except for our clothes. I moved out my home into another one with the clothes on our backs and a bag of freshly washed laundry each. I kept what I held dearest and everything my daughter owned. But anything that could of had bedbugs I threw away. I treated the 2 floor home with pesticides used silicon to seal my home. And went crazy with DE power and I mean crazy. It says that all you need is a night coating. I covered my floors in this. Probably not the smartest idea but remember I was losing my mind due to the bed bugs. I left it on the floor for over a month . I cleaned it up which was very A little bit stayed and we continued to live somewhere else for about 5 months . We had cleaned up all the powder and pesticides and brought everything new. We had our clothes that had no bugs . Our TVs and many other valuables put into storage. It was a very difficult time. But we're back home now we have not had 1 expirence.
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
